Friday, August 28, 1998

An Investing Vacation
by Jon Cheek ([email protected])

Technically, I didn't go on a vacation but a medical missionary trip. However, I consider any time away from the hospital routine a vacation. For hints as to location: it used to be one of "Papa" Hemmingway's hangouts. Baseball is the national pastime. And then there are the cigars.

I wasn't living in "jungle" conditions, but for all practical purposes I was cut off from the world as we Americans know it for about 10 days. It was very difficult to make a local phone call, much less an international one. Surfing the net was out of the question. Forget about the Wall Street Journal or USA Today, the locals never heard of them. And I have arrived back home ahead of the post cards that I mailed two weeks ago and counting.

My point? I had an amazing adventure and never once worried about how my investments were doing. I follow mechanical models that require my attention only once a year -- no daily or even weekly calls to my broker. I was more worried about arriving home safely than I was with my portfolio's performance during my absence. Oh, and remember, your seat cushion can be used as a flotation device. But where's the shark repellent?

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